News for Florida animal advocates

This week Banfield, the largest veterinary practice in the U.S., announced that it is no longer offering tail docking or ear cropping procedures in its hospitals. In a press release, a company spokesperson explained, “After thoughtful consideration and reviewing medical research, we have determined it is in the best interest of the pets we treat… […]

This afternoon the Judiciary Committee of the U.S House of Representatives unanimously approved House Resolution 2811, a bill that would halt the import and interstate transport of Burmese and African rock pythons, two of the world’s largest species of snakes.
During the hearing, Rep. Thomas Rooney explained that pythons “pose a real threat to human safety.” Republican […]

The American Dietetic Association, “the world’s largest organization of food and nutrition professionals,” has updated its position statement on vegetarian/vegan diets:

“It is the position of the American Dietetic Association that appropriately planned vegetarian diets, including total vegetarian or vegan diets, are healthful, nutritionally adequate, and may provide health benefits in the prevention and treatment of […]

The amount of money bet on greyhound racing in Florida has been steadily declining for years. That’s good news for the dogs! To keep the lights on, dog tracks have turned to poker tables and slot machines.
The Sanford Orlando Kennel Club is one of only a few tracks in Florida that do not offer poker. […]

Last week ARFF learned that the Whitehall South Condominium Association in Boca Raton had hired a trapper to capture and kill foxes spotted on the property (Florida law prohibits the relocation of most trapped wildlife). The trapper was called in following an incident in Boca Raton in which a fox, later determined to be rabid, […]

The Cove is a powerful new documentary about efforts to expose the capture and slaughter of dolphins in Taiji, Japan.
One of the film’s heroes is Ric O’Barry, who worked for years at the Miami Seaquarium and trained dolphins for the “Flipper” television series. In 1970, after witnessing the death of a dolphin he had cared […]

This weekend’s Miss Florida USA pageant will determine Florida’s representative to Donald Trump’s Miss USA pageant to be held next April.
From 1967 to 1987, the national Miss USA pageant was hosted by television personality and animal rights activist Bob Barker. During his reign, the televised contest experienced its highest ratings ever. Despite this, the pageant […]

Among the noise and bustle at last weekend’s TattooLaPalooza, a “tattoo & motorcycle extravaganza” at the Miami Beach Convention Center, was a tiger pacing in a metal cage, an alligator with his mouth taped shut, pythons, monkeys and other exotic animals. Attendees could-for a fee-get their picture taken with an animal.
The animals were brought to […]

“Soy milk keeps Jacksonville company in business” was the title of a story in Thursday’s Florida Times-Union newspaper. In 2003, WhiteWave Foods*, producers of the Silk brand of soymilk, purchased a factory in downtown Jacksonville that had been scheduled to close. A third of its work force had been laid off. Since then, buoyed by […]

Today’s AOL homepage features a story about the “most heated food debates in America.” Among the “most controversial restaurant dishes” are lion meat (on the menu for a brief time last year at a Tampa area restaurant), marlin and bluefin tuna (fish whose numbers in the wild have declined dramatically), shark fin soup, foie gras […]